Procurement of equipments is biggest problem in CBM projects

By Benget Besalicto Tnb.

Equipment procurement is the biggest challenge facing the development of coal bed methane (CBM) projects in Indonesia as the exploration and exploitation need specific equipments different from those used in the conventional gas projects.

?We have to procure our equipments from outside of Indonesia. Here as the CBM development is relatively new, we find it difficult to get local expertise and equipment such as rigs with specifications we need,? said Gunther Newcombe, President Director of Vico Indonesia, which is developing its CBM projects in Indonesia.

Equipment procurement and available skilled human resources are the most problematic issues facing the industry. All developers have to rely on foreign providers and hence the processes take longer time.

Ahmad Yuniarto, Chairman of PT Schlumberger Indonesia, an oil and gas services firm, said that the nature of CBM development was different from that of the conventional oil and gas, so that it needed specialty equipment. ?We even have to design the rigs ourselves as such to meet the needs of certain wells. Every well has its own characteristic that we have to dovetail with the specifications,? he said.

But he said that it was just normal as the CBM in Indonesia was just newly developed. ?I think along with its development, the problems will be gradually solved,? he said.

Editing by Dadan Wijaksana